Lodging near LAX and Portland Oregon stations

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Pooh2

Service Attendant
Joined
Jan 26, 2013
Messages
127
Any recommendations for lodging near LA Union Station and Portland Oregon Stations?

Usually stay at Hyatt or Marriott for the points but open to anything safe and clean just to overnight close to the stations and not have to rent a car.
 
I recently stayed at the Embassy Suites in Portland, which is in an historic hotel building about ten blocks from Union Station. It was very nice.

My wife and I stayed at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, which is about a mile from Union Station. It was also very nice. I remember that we were given a handicapped room, with a wheel-in shower that was bigger than our entire bedroom on the train!
 
In LAX, the Metro Plaza (while not the Ritz) is inexpensive and convenient for overnight. It is less than 2 blocks (a 5 minute walk) from Union Station. It can even be seen from the station. (In October I arrived on a very late CS @ 1 am and had no qualms walking to it with my bags. I had an 8 am train that morning.)

In PDX, the MAX (light rail) stop is right next to Union Station. Thus just about any hotel in the city (including at the airport, which MAX serves) is "convenient to" the station
 
I was recently in Portland and in LA and stayed in Hilton properties both visits. I stayed at the Embassy Suites in Portland and the Double Tree Downtown in LA. Both hotels were walking distance from the train station (for me).
 
I second the Metro Plaza in LA, and highly recommend the HI Norhtwest Hostel in Portland, as well as the Green Tortoise Hostel in the City of Roses.

As was said,Portland can be pricey but the Hostels, as well as the Hotels and Motels out by the Airport can be good deals if you want to spend more.
 
If budget is a concern, the Portland International Guesthouse is a good choice: http://www.pdxguesthouse.com/ (Note that googling "Portland International Guesthouse" gives you results for the Northwest Portland Guesthouse, which is a different place.) It's about a mile from the station, so it's either a long walk or a short bus ride.

In Los Angeles, I enjoyed staying at the Sanborn Guest House: http://sanbornhouse.com/ It's easily reachable from Union Station by public transportation (Metro and/or bus). However, it has only two guest rooms, and they can get booked up months in advance.
 
I stayed at the Double Tree in LA last August. A bit too far to walk for me. They have a car that will pick you up which was very nice. You preset the time and can call them if train is early or late.
 
Another option is to get off at the Burbank Airport station. There's a Marriott right at the airport and a Courtyard not too far away. I know the Marriott has a shuttle (although it's not much of a walk), and I think the Courtyard does too. You can sometimes get very good rates. If you're coming in on the Coast Starlight or a Surfliner from the north, it's the last stop before LA Union Station. Metrolink trains or the Surfliner can get you to Union Station in the morning -- it's a quick hop. If you're coming into LA from the east or south, you'd have to make a connection at LAUS going the other way, but you could pick up the Starlight at Burbank the next morning.

One potential problem: Burbank doesn't have baggage service. There are hacks for that, I think, like buying a ticket and checking baggage through to LAUS, but getting off at Burbank and picking it up the next day. I've never done it -- there are people on this board who know a lot more about that, though.
 
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Lots of good suggestions! Thanks!

We are thinking of flying into LAX, then get take Coaststarlight to Portland for a few days, then take the Empire Builder to Whitefish (rough iterniary so far so keep suggestions coming!).
 
In Portland, the very comfortable Mark Spencer Hotel isn't inexpensive, but isn't outrageous either. Located just a block from Powell's Books, a reasonable walk from Union Station (or walk a couple of blocks to the trolley line--it runs right by the hotel), and well-located for walking around downtown to restaurants, food cart pod, brew pubs, etc.
 
In Portland, there is a Residence Inn overlooking the station. In fact if you walk out the back door, you are right across a small street from the tracks. Each day, we would see Cascades and Coast Starlight trains as well as Empire Builder from our window. When it was time to catch the C.S., we walked to the station.

For L.A, the Metro Hotel, while not a first class place, is acceptable for an overnight stay. I'd find another place if I were staying more than a night.

We were at both places last August.
 
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